DataKind provides data analysis and artificial intelligence tools to left-leaning causes and advocates for the use of these technologies.

DataKind issues reports ¹ , participates in prominent conferences and events, ² and partners with other left-leaning nonprofit and private sector organizations. ³ It claims to promote the knowledge and use of data science among underserved populations and those who have less technical expertise. ⁴

Leadership

DataKind was founded in 2011 by Jake Porway, ⁵ who served as its executive director until his resignation in December 2020. ⁶ In 2015, Porway described “an opportunity to use these same algorithms that we’re writing to boost profit, to instead boost social impact.” ⁷

Lauren Woodman was named chief executive officer in 2021 ⁸ after an interim tenure as executive director by DataKind’s former chief operating officer, Russata Buford. ⁹

The organization lists around 20 current staff. Its board includes members from MasterCard, Microsoft, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and the Overdeck Family Foundation. ¹⁰

Activities

Issues on which DataKind has engaged include refugee policy, ¹¹ alleged racial discrimination in “stop and frisk” policing in New York City, ¹² the California water crisis, ¹³  graduation rates in Dallas-area schools, ¹⁴ and “racial wealth equity.” ¹⁵

DataKind staff often make presentations at national and international events, including the World Economic Forum. ¹⁶

DataKind’s then-executive director Jake Porway signed a letter opposing President Donald Trump’s January 2017 executive order that restricted travel from certain countries to the United States, characterizing it as a “Muslim ban.” ¹⁷

DataKind staff have served in Democratic presidential administrations, with chief program officer Afua Bruce serving on the Biden Department of Justice transition team in 2020, ¹⁸ and the organization’s advisor DJ Patil served as the Obama administration’s first-ever Chief Data Scientist in 2015. ¹⁹

Funding

DataKind experienced a steep drop-off in revenue between 2018 and 2019, with more than $18 million in revenue in 2018 and less than $9 million in 2019. ²⁰ Tax forms for the Rockefeller Foundation reported $700,000 in donations or pledges to DataKind in 2020. ²¹ Google.org donated $1.1 million to DataKind in 2021, which it devoted to new programming. ²²

1. “Powering Public Data for Communities: Highlights from Virtual DataDive Report Back.” DataKind. April 12, 2021. https://www.datakind.org/blog/powering-public-data-for-communities-highlights-from-virtual-datadiver-report-back.
2. “DataKind + Partners Address World Leaders at Davos as AI Takes Center Stage.” DataKind. February 2, 2023. https://www.datakind.org/blog/datakind-partners-address-world-leaders-at-davos-as-ai-takes-center-stage.
3. “Powering Public Data for Communities: Highlights from Virtual DataDive Report Back.” DataKind. April 12, 2021. https://www.datakind.org/blog/powering-public-data-for-communities-highlights-from-virtual-datadiver-report-back.
4.  “Jake Porway: Want to Save the World? There’s an App for That.” National Geographic. June 13, 2012. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jake-porway-want-save-world-theres-app.
5. Corliss, David. “A Conversation with DataKind’s Executive Director, Jake Porway.” AMSTATNEWS. December 1, 2020. https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2020/12/01/datakinds-jake-porway/.
6. Porway, Jake. Twitter Post. December 10, 2020, 3:25 p.m. https://twitter.com/jakeporway/status/1337131458662699011.
7. “Data Science for Social Good with Datakind’s Jake Porway.” YouTube. 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE-f_3mLw6Q.
8. ^[1] “Welcome Lauren Woodman, DataKind’s CEO.” DataKind. October 12, 2021. https://www.datakind.org/blog/welcome-lauren-woodman-datakinds-ceo.
9. Celebrating Russatta Buford as DataKind’s Interim Director.” DataKind. February 10, 2021. https://www.datakind.org/blog/celebrating-russatta-buford-as-datakinds-interim-executive-director.
10. “Our Team.” DataKind. DataKind. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.datakind.org/our-team.
11. “Using Satellite Imagery to Generate Awareness and Funds for Refugees .” DataKind. DataKind, June 20, 2018. https://www.datakind.org/blog/using-satellite-imagery-to-generate-awareness-and-funds-for-refugees.
12. “Jake Porway’s Data Without Borders.” PopTech. YouTube. 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjxn0IzImN4.
13. “Forecasting Water Demand in California When Every Drop Counts.” DataKind. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.datakind.org/projects/forecasting-water-demand-in-california-when-every-drop-counts.
14. “Bringing Data Science and Education Expertise Together to Advance Student Success in Dallas County.” DataKind. June 13, 2018. https://www.datakind.org/blog/bringing-data-science-and-education-expertise-together-to-advance-student-success-in-dallas-county.
15. Advancing Racial Wealth Equity in the U.S.: DataKind Expands Partnership with Black Wealth Data Center.” DataKind. December 13, 2022. https://www.datakind.org/blog/advancing-racial-wealth-equity-in-the-us-datakind-expands-partnership-with-black-wealth-data-center.
16. “Here’s How Data Science Can Help Solve Global Crises .” World Economic Forum. May 20, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/impact-data-science-can-help-solve-global-crises-but-only-if-we-deploy-it-on-the-front-lines/.
17. “Social Entrepreneurs Urge Trump To Abandon Muslim Ban.” Ecosystem Marketplace. February 9, 2017. https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/social-entrepreneurs-urge-trump-to-abandon-muslim-ban/.
18. Byrd, Aaron. “Biden Review Teams Include Many Former Tech Officials and Digital Service Members.” Nextgov. November 11, 2020. https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/11/biden-review-teams-include-many-former-tech-officials-and-digital-service-members/169977/.
19. The White House: President Barack Obama § (2015). https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/02/18/white-house-names-dr-dj-patil-first-us-chief-data-scientist.
20. DataKind, Inc. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/464082076_202009_990_2021041417943862.pdf.
21. The Rockefeller Foundation. Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File an Exempt Organization Return (Form 8868). 2020. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2022/01/rockefeller-foundation-2020-form-990.pdf.
22. “DataKind Launches New Cohort of Projects to Advance Economic Empowerment with $1.1M in Support from Google.org.” DataKind. December 7, 2021. https://www.datakind.org/blog/datakind-launches-new-cohort-of-projects-to-advance-economic-empowerment-with-11m-in-support-from-go.